dig deep, can't hide from the corners of my mind

It was a v. nice four-day weekend [editor's note: that's partially a lie; it was a four-day weekend, but it was only somewhat nice rather than v. nice]. Today was a bit more relaxing than yesterday, mostly because I willed it to be so - I slept a little later, wrote in my journal while nursing my coffee, played some word games on my ipad to relax, and generally tried to unwind a bit. I probably should have gone for a walk, but it was cold out, so I mostly chilled in my room.

This evening, I made the rather grandiose plan to cook two stir-frys at once, neither of which I'd made before. This was a delicate balance, since I had to prep ingredients for both, get the rice going, make sure I knew which bits of tings and which sauces were going into which pan, etc. Luckily [censored] hung out with me while I cooked and was the perfect sous chef (and by that I mean he occasionally handed me iced tea spoons and also made jokes).

But despite the complications of cooking two main dishes, dinner was banging, if I do say so myself. I made a Mongolian beef that I will absolutely make again, and a cashew chicken stirfry that I would also make again (although I might experiment with some different sauce options). The beef was a real winner - I almost quadrupled the recipe so that we would have leftovers, but we hit it pretty hard tonight. This recipe made for super tender beef (if you slice the flank steak correctly and sear it without overcooking - if you don't, sorry, it will be inedible) and the sauce was delightful.

So, I was pretty pleased with how it all turned out, even if it took longer than planned and ended up on the table later because my parents had company (people around here are slowly hearing what's going on with Dad, which means more visitors and more calls). After we were done eating, I hung out with my dad for a bit, then cleaned up the kitchen. Just as I was wiping the counters and soaking the last pan, John called, so I took a break and talked to him for almost an hour. We hadn't talked in ages and ages, so it was really nice to catch up. Jess also took a turn on the phone to say hi; hopefully I'll make it to California for an extended trip this summer, since we are long overdue for some in-person engagement.

So, talking to John and Jess made my heart lighter, which was much needed and appreciated. Then I finished washing that last pan, messed around online, and generally procrastinated on going to bed. But I suppose sleep would be a good idea since I have to work tomorrow - goodnight!